


Their Moment

by naboru



Series: Blast Off/Vortex Advent Calendar [22]
Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Dark fluff, Gen, Gen Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 15:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naboru/pseuds/naboru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vortex hides from a construction site on Chaar and gets company.</p><p>Vortex, Blast Off / gen, dark fluff / PG</p>
            </blockquote>





	Their Moment

**Author's Note:**

> **Continuity:** G1 (part of ultharkitty’s [Dysfunction AU](http://community.livejournal.com/lost_carcosa/19574.html#cutid1)), season 3 on Chaar  
>  **Warnings:** gen, dark fluff  
>  **Characters:** Vortex, Blast Off  
>  **Disclaimer:** Sadly, I own nothing.  
>  **Beta:** ultharkitty

Vortex sat on the ruins of a destroyed building, sipping his energon. It wasn’t much, but by now, after all those years on Earth and the starvation after the Unicron war, he was used to small rations.

Most of the energon they gathered now was used for the reinvigoration of the planet, and was needed to power their weapons. And while Vortex was happy to see the Decepticons getting their slag together again, he wasn’t very fond of helping building new stations or quarters.

He'd rather sit here, hiding from Onslaught so as not to be ordered to haul some more materials around. Thank frag Onslaught didn’t have his bond open to see where he was.

Sipping again, Vortex enjoyed the sunset.

It was odd to be on a planet with a star again. They’d been on Cybertron for only a short time, but even the ruins in the eternal night had felt more like home than Earth ever had.

Slag. He was becoming gloomy. Maybe he should find himself a distraction.

Just as he thought that, steps sounded from behind him, and Vortex didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

Blast Off sat down next to him with a heavy sigh from his vents.

The shuttle’s energy field was drawn tight, unreadable, but the limited body language told Vortex that Blast Off was exhausted.

For a long while, they sat in silence.

Vortex didn’t need more for the moment. He watched Blast Off from his peripheral vision, taking in the minute changes of his posture. Noticing the flicking ailerons, the twitches of Blast Off’s fingers of the hand on the ground and the ventilation slowing down, Vortex relaxed in the proximity of his team mate.

Everyone always thought he wanted to interface all the time, even his team did. But now and then, Vortex was quite happy with just spending time with them, like chatting and shooting things with Brawl, teasing Swindle or annoying Onslaught to an unspoken allowed level. It was a little disappointing that Blast Off almost never wanted to spend time with him if it wouldn’t lead to a frag.

And there he was being gloomy again.

Another few kliks passed, then it was Blast Off who began talking.

“You’re hiding from the construction site.”

It was a statement without judgement, Vortex could tell. He knew Blast Off was bad at starting conversations.

He shrugged. “So are you, I take it?”

Blast Off shrugged. “I’ve been flying filthy building materials for cycles now. I need a break. There’s still Astrotrain to do some logistics work.”

“What?” Vortex grinned, glancing up to the bigger mech. “You don’t like working in logistics any more?”

The shuttle shook his head and huffed. “Actually, I never did.”

That wasn’t really a surprise. “But you were good at it, weren’t you?”

“Only because I’m a perfectionist. I want to be good at the things I do.”

At that Vortex giggled. He flicked his rotor blades and grinned mischievously. “Oh, I can assure you you’re superb at least at _one_ thing.”

“Vector Sigma,” Blast Off muttered, “you really have a one track mind.”

Vortex was tempted to nudge the other with his elbow; he resisted. “C’mon. I couldn’t resist. It’s like you fed me the line on purpose.”

“Hmpf,” Blast Off vented air, but Vortex knew he wasn’t really annoyed. “I’m not like you.”

Right, the ‘copter though, you’re not; you’re bad at conversations. He’d never say it aloud, because he knew Blast Off was aware of it. And like he’d just said, the shuttle was a perfectionist. There was no way he wouldn’t be angry if Vortex pointed it out. Instead, Vortex changed the topic. “So, in Altihex, you hated your logistics job, and in Kaon, you hated the city? Or was working for Onslaught so bad?”

“I didn’t _hate_ working logistics.” Blast Off shrugged once more, eyeing the bit of energon left in Vortex’ cube. “I just wasn’t fond of it.”

He didn’t mention Onslaught or Kaon, and Vortex grinned. That had to be expected.

Vortex offered him the rest of the cube wordlessly. Blast Off took it with a nod, then turned to face the setting star again.

“I liked working in Altihex, for the Institute, though,” the shuttle added, a little quieter.

It stung.

Vortex ignored it. There was no point in dwelling on the past. He wasn’t like that. But Blast Off was, and Vortex thought he needed to say something.

“I’m sorry what happened to Altihex and your kind.” It wasn’t as though Vortex wanted to bring that up again, but he was very certain the shuttle had already thought about it. If Blast Off was in a chatty mood – for him anyway – maybe Vortex could learn a little more about him. Maybe it could even help the other to articulate his thoughts, and not just bury himself in them.

There was a long pause in which neither spoke.

“No,” Blast Off eventually broke the silence, “you’re not. But thank you for trying.”

“Why do you think I’m not honest?” Vortex frowned, but kept his voice even with a sincere curiosity.

“I know you’re an egoist.” Blast Off didn’t sound annoyed or angry. He was simply honest.

Vortex thought about what served him best. What he had to do or to say to get what he wanted. Right then, he was sorry for what happened to the city, even if it wasn’t for the reason someone would first guess.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Vortex shuffled on the concrete to lean on the broken wall behind him. “But really, I am sorry. I mean I don’t get how you must’ve felt and can’t relate, but yeah…” If Vortex was frank, he’d say that, after all those vorns and being bonded to the shuttle, he still didn’t get him completely. Even without anything like the Altihex disaster happening. “You changed after that. I didn’t like it.”

Blast Off glanced doubtfully at Vortex. “I didn’t change,” he insisted.

“Yes,” Vortex just replied. “You did.”

The shuttle’s joints tensed.

Both mechs continued to watch the star vanish and the sky darken. Vortex dwelt on the past. On his worry that Blast Off would leave with the rest of his kind, that he’d abandon Kaon, and the gang; that he’d abandon Vortex. He thought about how Blast Off had become even quieter, that his silence had changed, had become more thoughtful, and Blast Off had been more easily startled. Touching him hadn’t been allowed for a long time, and if someone had, even accidentally, the shuttle’s joints had almost locked.

It had changed for the better again after Onslaught had made up the plan to kill Megatron.

It had probably been the prospect of revenge that had kept Blast Off on Cybertron.

“I don’t like this war.” Blast Off pulled Vortex away from the past.

“Huh?” 

Like Vortex before, Blast Off leant back. “I don’t understand why we’re still here. Why we’re not leaving.” He drank the last bit of the energon. “Starscream is gone. Megatron is gone. Even Shockwave is gone.”

“We made him go,” Vortex corrected, and earnt himself an amused huff.

“My point is: we could just leave. There’s no reason to stay any longer. It’s not our war.”

That idea was scary. Vortex did like the fighting, a reason to act on his military programs, but he saw what Blast Off meant.

“Where should we go?” Vortex didn’t think Cybertron was an option.

“Does it matter?” Blast Off put the empty cube down. “Just somewhere. An old colony, a refugee planet, whatever. There have to be places that the war had spared. You’ve seen Paradron.”

Vortex tipped his head to a side as he pondered.

Blast Off continued almost enthusiastically for his standards. “Maybe we could find a technician who can help us to get rid of the dormant loyalty program.”

“And the gestalt program?” Vortex asked, sounding disappointed without his intent.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you were thinking it.”

There was another pause, which was telling.

“Maybe.”

Now it was Vortex’ turn to vent air heavily. He tried to sound more teasingly when he answered. “You do realise that when the program’s gone I’d follow you and touch you and prod you all the time, right?”

Blast Off turned, the tiniest grin on his lips. “So? What’s the difference from now, then?”

“Heh, today, _you_ followed _me_ here.”

“Tsk. I didn’t so much follow you as coincidentally think the same spot would be a good place to hide.”

Vortex laughed out loud, almost missing the soft chuckling of the shuttle. “You’re an idiot,” he smirked, shoulder twitching from a suppressed snicker.

“Excuse me?” Blast Off widened his optics, which glowed behind his visor. “You’re the idiot.” Then he punched Vortex’ arm lightly.

“Aft head. Can't you take a joke?” Vortex said in fake annoyance, and made Blast Off chuckle anew. This in return caused a warm shiver to flow down his back. Vortex liked the sound.

For more than a breem, there on the debris of the building, they were content just sitting next to each other.

The stars where clear in the sky for once, and no dust clouded the air. Vortex wondered if Blast Off liked it. He probably did.

Vortex liked the dusty, dirty air; it reminded him of Kaon.

While Blast Off enjoyed the view, Vortex watched him, and considered moving closer. He still didn’t want to initiate anything, but the shuttle’s proximity was so tempting, and so rare.

He didn’t want to destroy the mood, but he shifted a little closer, and then leant his helm on Blast Off’s shoulder.

As always, Blast Off tensed at the first contact. Then he relaxed.

Five more breems passed.

Without moving, they fell into recharge.


End file.
